


These Floors Are Really Talkative

by maanorchidee



Series: Talkative series [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Anxiety, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-06 02:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12807624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/maanorchidee
Summary: Two stories in the Talkative verse: 1) Blaine meeting Burt and Carole during Thanksgiving break and 2) Kurt and Blaine talking about bad days.





	These Floors Are Really Talkative

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, welcome to this fic. Please prepare for some word vomit, because there’s a reason I am publishing this.
> 
> You can also skip to the story right away, if you want to.
> 
> If you’re reading this, you may have read These Walls Are Really Talkative. In fact, if you haven’t then thank you for clicking on this fic, but it’s best to read Walls first before you start Floors.
> 
> This wasn’t meant to be published. I wrote TWART for myself, to sort all the problems I was going through and since Blaine’s been my comfort character for years, I’d given all of those to him. I like TWART a lot and it has a special place in my heart. Writing TWART felt like therapy in a way.
> 
> But TWART ended. I wasn’t done with this verse. I started a sequel named These Floors Are Really Talkative, starting off from the moment Kurt and Blaine started dating, till Blaine’s graduation probably. I’ve had the whole story outlined. Leidra, Rebecca and Danny would get bigger roles. Two Rent songs and one Next To Normal song! Hell, even a break-up, since they needed time off. Angst galore!
> 
> I also wasn’t done with this verse because my version of Blaine became more of a comfort character than canon!Blaine. Hence, I’ve had this ongoing love-hate relationship with canon!Blaine since 4x04 anyway. Every time I felt awful, I just remembered this Blaine. This boy. Ugh.
> 
> But over the past two years since TWART ended, things have changed. Things have, well, gotten better. It is kind of fitting that the epilogue of TWART ends in 2017. Sure, the world is in shambles, but just like Blaine, I’ve gotten better. And just like Blaine, I know it’s not ideal, but I am happier than ever. Sure, I’ve recently moved to my university city and I am feeling the exact way Blaine felt about meeting new people etc. when he moved to New York, but I’m good.
> 
> This Blaine is no longer my main comfort character. Don’t misunderstand me, Blaine is still my comfort character, but Phalanx (from All the other Ghosts) has taken the spot.
> 
> In fact, I haven’t reread TWART in a while since this disconnection has appeared between my well-being now and the angsty af feelings Blaine is feeling. The angsty af feelings I was feeling.
> 
> Honestly, most of the time I thought: “Wow, did I really go through that? Yes, I did. Oh.”
> 
> So I kind of quit writing TFART. I hadn’t opened the file in more than a year. The excessive story that I made for it? I barely remember half of it. Then I came across the file of the small tibids I’d already written and I thought it’d be a shame to get rid of that.
> 
> Which leads me to this. The kind of new These Floors Are Really Talkative, which is no longer a multichaptered fic, but which is now nothing more than two in-universe one-shots. One about Blaine meeting the Hummel-Hudson fam and some Sadie Hawkins stuff. I kind of edited it so it could fit in this format, but that’s it. 
> 
> Then there’s the other one-shot which is another part that I’d already written for the original TFART. It’s about bad days and I probably wrote it after I had one. I don’t remember. I also don’t remember the last time I had one.
> 
> I always wanted to do a Kurt POV, so a Kurt POV of the new storyline might happen as well and it’ll get published separately, but I guess TWART is mostly behind me.
> 
> Or maybe things will finally get better for this Blaine as well. Jeez, who knows?
> 
> Anyway, if you’re still reading it then a) wow, b) enjoy!

**_July 4 th 2012_ **

[“Blaine-wave”]  _Hey guys, Warble On! Happy Fourth of July and God bless America, I guess? I honestly don’t care that much. I do care about you, so if you need to talk, hit me up._ [points down]

_I did think it’s fitting that this Fourth of July landed on a Wednesday, so my Wednesday Well-Being is going to be holiday themed. Namely, what to do when you’re stuck in a room filled with people you know at least a little bit?_

_And yes, for some people it’s a good thing and that’s one of the reasons people celebrate whatever festivals or holidays or whatnot. But hey, guess who doesn’t like his extended family that well?_ [points towards himself]

_It can be nerve-wrecking, but here are some tips to help you get through…_

* * *

**_October 20 th 2014_ **

Kurt is waiting for his dad to pick up the phone. He’s pacing while waiting. It’s not like he’s too nervous, but he just likes walking while talking. Maybe it’s a Broadway thing.

“Kurt?”

“Dad!”

“Kurt!”

Kurt can’t help but smile when he hears his father’s excited voice. “Hey dad, how are you?”

“Great! Carole and I planned on going out tonight,” his dad sounds very happy, “I mean, it’s been awhile. But what’s up, bud? Why did you call?”

_Okay, deep breath._ “Uh, I’m calling to tell you that I’m seeing someone.”

“That is amazing! What is his name?” then he hears his dad saying to Carole: “Kurt has a boyfriend!” “Oh, what is his name?” “I just asked!”

“His name is Blaine. He lives in the room next to Mercedes and mine’s and well… it’s the guy you met over summer. Remember him? We saw him with his family at Breadstix.”

His father hums. “Yes, and you two hung out a couple of times during summer,” he says, “Yeah, the one with the dark hair. I remember him. We didn’t really get to meet over summer, though.”

“Wait, who is he dating?” Kurt hears Carole. His dad replies: “That kid in the restaurant, remember? Kurt told us he went to NYU with him and Mercedes.”

“Yes, him.”

“Well, when is he coming over?” his dad asks, “I wanna meet him! Is he going home for Thanksgiving too?”

“Well, we’ve discussed it. I think he doesn’t want his mother to be alone, so he’s going to Westerville,” Kurt answers, “Are you suggesting he should come along?”

“Yeah?”

Kurt nods happily. His dad’s reacting well. “Good, I’ll tell him that!”

“Great,” his dad says, and then to Carole: “I invited Blaine, the boyfriend, for Thanksgiving!” Carole whoops.

“Wait! Dad!” Kurt says quickly, “I do wanna tell you something.”

“Sure.”

“Please, go easy on him, okay?”

“What?”

“You have a history of scaring people away. Remember the first time you met Mercedes? Rachel? The entire glee club?”

“That was-”

“Out of protection, I know,” Kurt sighs, “And you were just messing with them, but please, don’t do that to Blaine, okay? He’s very, very shy.”

“How shy?”

“Uhm, it took him a couple of weeks to start talking to people in general,” Kurt explains, “He never left his room. He never talked to anyone. He never even made eye contact with the people on the floor. I think that if it weren’t for me, it still would’ve been like that.”

“Noted.”

Kurt sighs in relief. “Great!”

* * *

**_November 24 th 2014_ **

“Oh gosh, oh gosh,” Blaine mutters to himself. He’s going through the stuff he has packed. He’s going home for Thanksgiving, but before he goes to Westerville, he will join Kurt at the Hummel-Hudson house.

He’s going to meet Kurt’s parents.

And he’s scared shitless.

He’s met the man briefly at Breadstix, but Kurt and his family shared a booth on the other side of the restaurant. He knows he’s a nice man. He’s seen it and besides that, Kurt keeps on talking about him.

So it’s not that he’s afraid Kurt’s parents won’t like him, but- well, he is afraid because of that. Blaine knows he’s an amazing guy. He believes in it. But what if Kurt’s parents don’t like the way Blaine acts? What is Blaine goes in total panic mode during dinner, and Kurt’s parents think that’s weird? What if they think Blaine is weird?

He hears a door on the knock. Kurt’s waiting with Mercedes. Mercedes isn’t joining them for Thanksgiving break, but her parents will visit her during Christmas time.

“Are you ready?” Kurt asks when Blaine opens the door.

Blaine smiles weakly.

_Courage._ He takes a deep breath. He can do it.

* * *

“Home sweet home,” Kurt says after they get off the plane. Kurt is excited and Blaine gets why. They’re only one room away from Kurt’s parents.

“Come on!” Kurt gestures for Blaine to follow. He doesn’t reach for his hand. That’s the biggest downfall of going back to Ohio.

“They’re gonna love you, don’t worry,” Kurt says softly. It must’ve been clear that Blaine’s nervous. He nods and together they leave.

Before they have the time to look for Kurt’s parents, they already hear an excited “Kurt? Kurt!” Burt Hummel is literally jumping. His wife looks amused.

“Dad!” Kurt yells and runs towards his father. Blaine quickly takes Kurt’s suitcase. Kurt jumps in his dad’s arms and hugs him tightly. Burt is grinning like an idiot. Carole embraces her stepson too. Blaine stays in the background, looking lost.

He looks away. Not because he can’t bear watching Kurt having a great relationship with his father, but because he doesn’t want to impose. This is a family reunion, and Blaine isn’t part of the family.

What is he supposed to do now? He doesn’t want to look around and make stories in his head like he usually does. He needs to stay focused.

He looks down.

_Gosh, what do I do?_

He could make a great first impression by introducing himself. A simple ‘Hey, my name is Blaine’ is enough. He turns back to the family, only to turn away immediately. He clenches and unclenches his hand. He can’t do it.  _Fuck._ Why can’t he just introduce himself to them? This happens so often. New classmates, new colleagues… Blaine never goes up to them to introduce himself.

Maybe he should just wait for them to notice him.

That’s what he always does.

But wouldn’t that be weird?

But what if they’re watching him, waiting for him to introduce himself?  _Calm down,_ he tells himself. If he wasn’t holding two suitcases, he would’ve hidden his face in his hands. He tends to do that when he’s stressed. But no, he can’t do that, because then he drops the suitcases and people will notice and people will notice him.

What if they  _are_ indeed waiting for him to introduce himself? What if  _Kurt_ is waiting? He’s afraid to turn back. Then he will know if they’re watching or not, and now it’s the best to be oblivious to everything that’s going on.

He should hum a tune to distract him.

He should check his phone. He always relaxes when he reads one of the fanfictions he has on his phone. Or is that rude?

He should-

“Oh, and you must be Blaine!” Blaine immediately looks up. Carole is smiling and holds out her hand.

_‘Yes, that’s me’_ , he wants to say. Instead, he remains silent and nods slowly.

“Kurt has told us a lot about you!”

_‘All good things, all good things’,_ Blaine wants to joke. Instead, he just shrugs and smiles. Oh! He should shake her hand. Yes, do that first. They shake hands and Carole’s smile grows. “You’re very handsome.”

Blaine doesn’t know how to react to compliments. He nods. He shouldn’t have done that.  _Shit, now they’ll think I’m conceited._

He turns to Burt Hummel.

Jesus, this man is huge.

_‘Hello’,_ he wants to say at least. But he fails.

“Blaine,” Burt says in a gruff voice, “Nice to meet you.” Blaine nods again, but this time, he is the one who holds out his hand. That’s at least something. Blaine just hopes Burt won’t notice his hand is slightly trembling.

“Oh boys!” Carole says, “We should get going. It’s a long drive from Columbus to Lima.”

* * *

Kurt’s parents are just like his mom. They can’t stop asking questions about New York. Kurt answers all of them with a lot of excitement. Blaine likes it when Kurt looks so happy and careless. He’s so focused on watching Kurt be happy that he doesn’t hear Carole speaking to him till Kurt nudges him.

“-about you, Blaine? Are you enjoying New York?”

_‘Yes, a lot. I’m glad I set my fears aside and went to the Big Apple. I love the city. I mean, Broadway, the food, the atmosphere is great!’_ “Uh, yes.”

“And NYU? What are you studying?” Carole continues.

_‘I’m still working on that. I have to declare a major soon, or else I’ll get kicked out, but I think I’m actually getting somewhere. I only know that I’m not getting famous. Or am I already? I mean, BWA and all. Do you know about BWA?’_ “Undecided,” he says instead and shrugs.

“You’re from Ohio too, eh kid?” Burt says happily.

“Westerville,” Blaine answers. He only dropped the ‘ _I’m from’_ , so only two words. Good.

“Oh, Westerville Central? My friend from college went there.” Blaine tries not to freak out. “Was a great school,” Burt continues.

“Burt, dear, he hasn’t even told us if he’s from Westerville Central,” Carole laughs.

Well, he went to Westerville Central, but that didn’t end well.  _Okay, stay calm. They don’t know, they don’t know. Stay ca-_

“Blaine?” Kurt asks, looking worried.

Blaine coughs.

_‘Well, I went there, but I graduated from Dalton Academy’,_  he starts saying in his head, ‘ _It’s a private school in Westerville, so you probably don’t know it. I only went to Westerville Central for my freshmen year and a part of my sophomore year, but I obviously was better off at Dalton.’_ “Dalton,” he eventually says, “I graduated from Dalton Academy.”

“Hmm, never heard of it.”

_‘Well, yeah, it’s a private boarding school.’_ Blaine smiles at the memory.

“Maybe it has a team I know. Does Dalton have football team?”

“Daaaad!” Kurt says, “You’re too obsessed with that sport.”

“Am not!”

_‘Not football-football, or American football. We have the Dalton Kings, but they’re a soccer-football team.’_ “Dalton Kings.”

Burt shakes his head. “Never heard of it. Did you play?”

_‘Barely’,_ Blaine wants to laugh, ‘ _only for half a year or so. I ended up quitting after we lost another game and I joined the fencing team instead. Also I box. I was also part of the Dalton fight club, but I can’t talk about that. Gotta say that I haven’t been that much into sport since I got to New York. I didn’t have the time to find a gym I like.’_ “Yeah.”

At times like this, he’s happy that he’s sitting in the back. If Burt had asked this over dinner, Blaine also had to keep on looking at Burt. Gosh.

“Really? I didn’t know that!” Kurt says, “You never told me.”

“Well, there’s still a lot you don’t know,” Blaine deadpans. In the rear-view mirror, he can see Burt Hummel raise an eyebrow.  _OH God what did I dO NOW?_

The last thing he needs is his  _boyfriend’s father_ not trusting him. “I mean, not that I’m hiding something too big or anything,” he continues quickly, “It’s not like I’ve, uh, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve committed a crime or something. I don’t know. I mean, if I would, I’d tell you. I think. I mean, I don’t know if I would, because I’ve never committed a crime and I’m not planning on doing that, so don’t worry about that, because committing crimes isn’t a good thing and I’m talking too much please stop me from talking Kurt.”

Nice.

When Burt starts laughing, Blaine wants to disappear.

But to his surprise, Burt says:  “Kid, so good to hear you talk! I’ve been waiting to hear you for almost an hour!”

_‘Really?’_ Instead, he just gapes at Burt.

“Dad!” Kurt cries out, but Blaine doesn’t mind.

“Sorry, uh, I just have to wait…” ‘…  _till I’m more comfortable. Till you’re not strangers anymore. Till I feel like I can talk.’_

“Oh take all the time you need!” Carole says happily, “We’ll be here.”

Maybe the next two days won’t be that bad after all.

* * *

A couple of hours pass, and Blaine is more at ease. The Hummel-Hudsons are just like Kurt and Mercedes. Normally, strangers are scary, but the Hummel-Hudsons are inviting. Blaine doesn’t believe in fate and karma and all that jazz, but he likes the thought of him feeling right because it was supposed to be this way.

He’s looking at a picture of Finn and he smiles. Maybe the brunette next to him is just very small, but he looks so tall. There are so many pictures in the living room! He goes through all of them while Kurt and Carole are in the kitchen. Burt’s at the garage (apparently, the needed to go there after a small emergency).

He picks up a framed picture of Kurt wearing a tutu. It’s adorable. He loves the Hummel-Hudson house.

* * *

After dinner, the four of them watch a movie. Sort of. Burt and Carole clearly aren’t as interested as Kurt and Blaine, since Kurt picked the movie. Suddenly, Kurt feels something on his shoulder. It’s Blaine’s head.

He’s leaning against Kurt.

Sure, he’s asleep, so he didn’t do it intentionally, but Kurt still feels like something special just happened. His face must’ve made it clear, because his dad nods towards Blaine.

“You really like him, uh?”

Kurt beams.

“Good to know that he likes you too,” Carole adds, “He looks really comfortable snuggled against you.” And Kurt laughs.

“This is the first time he leans against me, despite the fact that we’ve been dating for two months now.”

Carole shrugs, but she doesn’t get it. Not really. Blaine is leaning against him for the first time in forever. When he wakes up, this might not happen anymore. Kurt has to take what he gets.

An entire hour passes, and Blaine’s still fast asleep. “Maybe we should carry him upstairs?” Burt suggests. Carole nods and says: “I prepared the-”

Full stop.

Carole looks away, but Kurt can see her eyes are watering.

“The guest room,” Burt continues, “But if he wants to stay in your room, that’s okay too.” Carole wipes away her tears, sighs deeply, and nods. Kurt knows that the guest room means Finn’s old room.

“I’ll take him there then,” Kurt replies, “I mean, otherwise it would be such a shame. All of Carole’s hard work for nothing.” He reluctantly pushes Blaine away, but then he scoops him up in his arms. “Ooooh, heavy!”

“Do you need help?”

“Nah, I think I got this. Or I hope.” He says his goodnights and leaves. Blaine tries to move and he puts his arms around Kurt. What a time to be alive.

* * *

**_November 25 th 2014_ **

When Blaine wakes up, he has no idea where he is. He reaches for his phone, but it’s nowhere to be seen. Then, to his surprise, he’s still wearing the clothes he wore the previous evening.

Oh.

He must’ve fallen asleep.

He realizes that he’s in the Hummel-Hudson house. They put him in the guestroom.

That makes him very happy.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to share a bed with Kurt…

Actually, it is because he doesn’t want to share a bed with Kurt, but that’s not because Kurt’s his boyfriend. It’s because he doesn’t want to share a bed with anyone. It’s too close.

They also placed his stuff in the guestroom. He checks the time on his phone -9:20am!- and changes into something more comfortable. He loves his jeans, but they aren’t very nice to sleep in, so he wants to get rid of them as soon as possible.

After that, he makes his way downstairs. Burt Hummel is sitting in the dining room, reading something on a tablet. When Burt spots Blaine, he smiles and gestures for him to sit down.

“Good morning, kiddo! Sleep well?”

Blaine nods and sighs.

Apparently he’s back to non-verbal communication only.  

“Good morning!” Kurt sing-songs from the kitchen. Carole, who is there too, laughs. When Blaine realises he’s alone with Burt, he takes a deep breath. He has spent the past couple of hours with this man, so he expects an interrogation.

But instead, Burt asks him the unexpected.

“So, I looked up this Dalton Kings team you mentioned, but I couldn’t find it. Only the team from Westerville Central. You’ve heard of that school, right?”

“Uh.” Blaine clearly didn’t expect his boyfriend’s dad to talk about Westerville Central.

“I see they beat the Titans,” Burt continues as he scrolls down the page, “That’s what happens when the Beiste is on vacation, I guess. How did the Dalton Kings do it? You played football, just like Kurt, right?”

“No,” Blaine replies, “I mean- Yes! But no, because no American football. So yes and no. Both. Uh…” He wants to add: ‘ _Soccer! I meant soccer! Also, Kurt played football?’_

Burt gestures to him to go on.

_Deep breath._

“Dalton Kings was a soccer team, and I tried out,” he eventually says, breathing harder, “But I… No. Just no.” Blaine wants to bang his head against the wall. Yesterday evening went so well, why is this happening?

Probably because Burt brought up-

“Oh, so the one from Westerville Central is football! Now I get why I could only find that one online,” Burt says, “Well, enough of the Titans then.”

Oh god.

“Oh man, I keep on talking about Westerville Central! How stupid of me. You didn’t even go to that school.”

Blaine doesn’t meet Burt’s eyes. Instead, he pretends to find the wooden dining table really interesting. He stares at it, wondering if Burt Hummel, the father of his boyfriend, is waiting for him to say something about Westerville Central.

_Deep breath in._

_Deep breath out._

_I’m aliveeeee, I’m aliiiiiiiiveeeee. So aliiiiiveeeeeeee. I am flame and I am fire, I am d- this isn’t working. Oh, well then focus on controlling your breathing instead._

_Deep breath in._

_Deep breath out._

_Don’t look up._

“Blaine?” Burt asks, sounding concerned, and Blaine doesn’t have to look up to know that Burt isfrowning.

“Uh.”

He really can’t say more than that.  _Please, please, don’t let this turn into one of those moments where you can’t speak. Please, not today, please. Deep breath in. Deep br-_

Then another voice pulls him out of his trance. “Dad, sunny-side up?” It’s Kurt’s voice from the kitchen.

“Yup!” Burt replies happily.

“And does Blaine want an egg too? Sunny-side up?”

_Oooooooh god._

Blaine forces himself to at least look up. He doesn’t turn to Burt, but to the kitchen. Kurt can’t see him, but he’s obviously waiting for Blaine to reply, which is kind of a problem since Blaine doesn’t trust himself to say anything else than ‘Uh’.

_What a beautiful morning,_  he thinks bitterly. He lowers his head again and sighs deeply. He shakes his head a couple of times. He’s this close to hugging himself.

_Wow, I’m pathetic._

Normally, he tries not to think like this, because deep down he knows it’s not true, but the situation is a bit pathetic. He’s having a minor panic attack and the only person around is his boyfriend’s dad who probably thinks that Blaine is being weird.

“Blaine?” he hears Kurt.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Burt lifting his hand.

_Oh I swear to god what if he’s gonna_ touch  _me? Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck._

He didn’t expect the first breakfast at the Hummel-Hudson house to go like this. Then, to Blaine’s relief, Burt doesn’t reach out for him, instead he waves in order to catch Blaine’s attention. Blaine closes his eyes, takes once again a deep breath, and faces Burt.

“Do you want one?” he asks gently.

Blaine nods shakenly. Burt turns towards the kitchen and yells: “Yup, one for Blaine too!”

Blaine suddenly understands where Kurt’s kindness and patience comes from.

* * *

How do you discuss Westerville Central?

Westerville Central is on his list of ‘unspeakables’.

Blaine is a pretty open guy. He kind of has to be since he’s one of the many YouTubers who’ve put a huge chunk of their personal lives on the internet for everyone to see. Even outside BWA he’s very easy to talk to when it’s serious. And when he knows the person who’s talking to him well enough.

But Westerville Central… he has banished that from his mind completely. It’s not gone. Blaine wishes it were gone, but it’ll never go away. Blaine doesn’t ignore it, but he’s gotten to a mindset where it doesn’t hurt anymore and where it’s not on his mind the whole time.

That does not mean that Blaine gives it the right to come back in full-force.

The rest of the breakfast went okay. After Burt stopped talking to him and after Carole started talking about Finn always completely demolishing his eggs, since he was impatient while baking them, it was okay. Kurt smiled at him.

Blaine’s sitting in the garden. It’s cold, but Blaine doesn’t really mind. Inside, Kurt is planning to meet up with his glee friends. They’ve been planning a reunion, but they hadn’t finalised the details yet. Kurt’s asked Blaine to come with him when the inevitable glee club meeting occurs tomorrow, but Blaine declined for two reasons: a) he really has to go to his mom in Westerville and b) he’s not entirely sure he’s ready to be surrounded by all these strangers.

Blaine can hear the door open and he smiles when Kurt sits next to him.

“You’re freezing,” Kurt says. He’s shaking from the cold, but then again, Kurt forgot to put on suitable winter clothes.

“Am not. You are.”

Kurt nods. “Well, yes. I cannot argue with you there.”

“Did you finally make those plans?” Blaine asks. Just because he uses every opportunity to postpone meeting Kurt’s friends doesn’t mean he can’t talk about it. Then again, it is only polite.

“Yes. Gosh. Why do we always suck at planning?” Kurt groans, “Did I ever tell you that we wrote the songs for our first Nationals while we were already in New York? We could’ve rehearsed in Lima already, but no, our incompetent teacher completely forgot about that.”

Blaine laughs. Honestly, every time Kurt talks about his high school days, it feels like Blaine’s listening to a soap opera.

“So, you’re going to Westerville tomorrow?” Kurt asks, sounding a bit disappointed.

“Yes.”

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay. Like I told you, I can drive you. You don’t have to endure a boring bus ride or-”

“Kurt, I’ll be fine. I have a boot of Next to Normal on my phone. Besides, you’ve missed your friends. You shouldn’t set that aside for me. Also, mom is expecting me. She’s been sending me awkward pictures all day to remind me that I need to be there for her.”

Blaine takes out his phone and he shows some of them to Kurt.

“Wow, I wish I could take your phone so that I can have a better look, but my fingers will freeze and die off. But what a dress!” Kurt’s referring to the photos of the Thanksgiving haul.

“I am excited to see it in real life. It is too awful!”

“Speaking of parents, my dad told me about breakfast,” Kurt says slowly and Blaine’s mind just…

Stop. Retreat. Done. Nope.

But he knows he can’t just get up and run the fuck away. Instead, he just uses his usual response: “Oh.”

“Yeah, he wants to know if you’re okay.”

“… I am now.”

“But you weren’t then.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Oh wow. If there’s one thing Blaine keeps telling everyone is that running from problems isn’t always the best way, because it always matters, but here he is.

Kurt moves his hand out of his pocket, but then stops. “Sweetheart, you’re tense and it’s not because you’re freezing. Can I touch you?”

Blaine takes Kurt’s hand as a yes.

“Just this,” he says and Kurt nods.

“What happened this morning, Blaine?” Kurt asks, looking concerned, “My dad thought you were completely losing it.” And stop again. Retreat. Let go of Kurt’s hand. “I mean- I shouldn’t have worded it like that. Okay, I quote: ‘Is Blaine okay, kid? He seemed a bit panicky this morning. I don’t know what happened.’ And then he patted me on the back.”

Blaine closes his eyes and he puts his head in his hands.

It’s a surprise he doesn’t jerk away when he feels Kurt’s hand on his back.

“It’s okay, Blaine. Don’t force it.”

“I don’t want to tell you,” Blaine admits, “Don’t make me tell you, Kurt.”

Because that’s why Blaine’s named them the ‘unspeakables’. Sure, he’s gotten the term from Harry Potter, but they’re also named that because they are not to be spoken of. Blaine doesn’t bottle it up or anything. There are people who know what’s happened at Westerville Central, so he has people to talk to, but Kurt isn’t one of them.

The two of them sit in an awkward silence. Blaine’s pretty sure Kurt wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what to do. Blaine’s still hiding his head in his hands, refusing to look up. Kurt’s hand is still on his back.

“Blaine, I-”

He gets cut off by the sound of the door opening once again.

“What are you two doing out there?” Carole asks, sounding a bit concerned, “It is freezing and Kurt, I know it is a fashionable coat, but it is not warm enough. In you get. I made hot cacao!” The door closes again.

Blaine can hear Kurt get up.

“Blaine, you coming?”

_‘No.’_  “Yes.”

Blaine tells himself to get his act together. He looks up and Kurt’s clearly waiting for him, holding out his hand so he can help Blaine up. Blaine takes it.

* * *

He’s ‘packing’.

At least, that is what he’s told the Hummel-Hudsons. His lie is see-through, because they all know he never even took that much stuff out of his suitcase, since he doesn’t need much for two days, but they let him go. Blaine’s glad for that.

They are probably talking about him downstairs, but the good thing of listening to music is that it filters out all other sounds.

He sits on Finn’s bed and he’s texting some of the Warblers. They are also meeting up this Thanksgiving, although there will be a bigger reunion during Christmas. He replies that he’ll try to meet up with them, but honestly, his brain doesn’t seem to function properly.

Blaine’s frustrated. He’s extremely frustrated and  _that_ frustrates him. It’s an never-ending cycle of frustration. He hates the unspeakables. He hates what they’ve done to him. He hates what they still do to him.

He gets up and throws the phone on Finn’s bed and he starts pacing in the room. How can it be that one small conversation about an unspeakable in the morning influences the entire day and Blaine’s mood? Why are there some things he just can’t let go of? Blaine’s pretty sure more people have something similar to an unspeakable, but that doesn’t make it better.

He should be downstairs with the Hummel-Hudson, trash talking reality tv shows. He should be celebrating. He should get to know Kurt’s family, since Kurt is very dear to him. He should be-

And the next thing he knows, he’s lying on the floor.

_Great_ , he thinks to himself,  _you are so caught up in this that you can’t even concentrate on walking._

He sighs and he doesn’t have the energy to get up. Maybe he should tell Kurt. After all, they’ve always been honest with each other.

_But it is one of the unspeakables,_  a voice in Blaine’s head yells.

Blaine knows that. He knows it like no other, but maybe he should speak about it for once. There’s tension in the Hummel-Hudson house, and Blaine knows he’s the blame. Kurt, his own boyfriend, doesn’t know how to properly act around Blaine, and therefore Kurt’s parents don’t know how to act around Blaine. The Hummel-Hudsons have been nothing but kind ever since Blaine got here.

It’d be a shame if Blaine would let it end like this. He has to go to his mom tomorrow, and she will ask how it went. Is Blaine supposed to say: “Terrible, because my mental state prevented me from letting everyone feel at ease?”

_But it is one of the unspeakables,_  a voice in Blaine’s head yells again, louder this time.

God. Blaine feels like he’s about to have another cryfest about this. He really does not want to have another one. He’s cried enough about this in the past few years.

There’s a knock on the door and then it opens.

“Well…” Kurt looks surprised.

“Hi,” Blaine says, still lying face-down on the floor.

“There’s a bed right there, you know that, right?” Kurt nods towards Finn’s bed.

“I know, but I got distracted,” Blaine says.

Kurt closes the door behind him and he sits on the floor next to Blaine. “Distracted?”

“Yes, I was thinking about… things.”

“And did you tell those things to the floor? Is that why you’re lying on the floor?” Kurt says, sounding amused. At least that’s something. Blaine prefers Kurt being amused by his weird actions over Kurt being freaked out by his weird actions.

“These floors are really talkative,” Blaine argues.

“Sure. First walls, now floors. You make a habit out of talking to immovable objects?”

“I talk to a camera for the living, Kurt, but I use other objects to practice my speaking skills. I highly recommend it,” Blaine says, but he does sit up.

“Do you really see BWA as a career?” Kurt asks.

Blaine actually takes time to think about that. “I honestly don’t know. I mean, thanks do monetization I make some profit of BWA, but since I am not a full-time YouTuber, and I am also a relatively small channel, so compared to the big ones, I don’t make that much of money.”

“Blaine, you have over 600,000 subscribers,” Kurt reminds him.

“… Okay, you got me there. But there are also YouTubers out there who make millions, because they also have additional merch, or books, or tours… I don’t have that and I don’t really need it. So, is it a career? I am also a full-time student and I work at the library. To this day, I still see BWA as a hobby instead of work. But honestly, it is also nice to know that if I don’t find another job, I can always continue doing BWA.”

“Assuming YouTube will still exist in the future.”

“Well, if not, then people will find a new medium,” Blaine shrugs, “I am not all too worried about BWA. I don’t owe anyone. I can make and skip videos whenever I feel like it.”

“Of course.”

The two don’t talk that much after that, but at least the silence isn’t that awkward. They both know that they’ve got that  _thing_  hanging over their heads, though.

“Kurt, I’m sorry.” Time to break the peace.

“About what?”

“The way I’m acting. It’s not cool of me. I’m supposed to meet your parents and have a great time here,” Blaine says, “But I’m not really- I mean… I do like being here, but what happened outside…”

“Yes?”

“Can I… Can I tell you tonight? Right now, I just want to enjoy my time here without wondering if I’m going to ruin everything.”

“Sure.”

* * *

Things are easier after that. Just knowing that Blaine doesn’t have to tell Kurt anything at an instant makes him feel more at ease. That leads to the tension between the two of them disappearing, which leads to the tension between Blaine and the Hummel-Hudsons disappearing, and that leads to Blaine feeling more at ease.

He talks easily with Burt and Carole.

When Burt finds out that Blaine does indeed like football, it feels like a whole new world has opened for the two of them. Blaine and Burt are discussing the game while Carole and Kurt watch them, not really following.

That evening, Burt and Carole go to sleep and Blaine is left alone with Kurt.

Time to face the music.

“Let’s go to my room,” Kurt says, “We can talk there. Just give me a minute and I’ll turn off all the lights.”

“If only we could  _Nox_  it.”

“Is that Harry Potter?” Kurt asks while he’s turning everything off.

“You should read those books more often, Kurt.”

* * *

**_November 26 th 2014_ **

When Blaine wakes up, something is wrong.

He tries not to panic when he feels Kurt’s arms wrapped around him. He suddenly remembers why he’s even sharing a bed with Kurt. Blaine’s told Kurt what happened at his old school and they must’ve passed out from exhaustion and crying. Good thing they were already ready for bed, because Blaine doesn’t want to wake up, looking like a mess, again.

But Blaine’s very aware that Kurt’s holding him.

_Fuck. Fuck._

Blaine slowly tries to get out of Kurt’s grip. He doesn’t want to wake Kurt up, but he also doesn’t want to keep lying here. He can feel the panic rising.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

After a bit of struggle, he succeeds and luckily the bed is big enough for him to move away from Kurt and to lie down to calm down. Kurt moves around a little bit, but he doesn’t reach for Blaine in his sleep and he doesn’t wake up.

Blaine watches him sleep. Kurt looks so peaceful and beautiful.

Maybe one day Blaine will get over this roadblock and Kurt will be able to hold him. This time, Blaine is willing to try. Usually, he doesn’t really mind that he doesn’t like people touching or hugging him, but Kurt’s different. Kurt’s different enough to make Blaine talk about Westerville Central.

The display on Kurt’s alarm clock tells him it’s 8:00am. Blaine quietly makes his way to Finn’s room -he knows it’s officially the guest room now, but Kurt still calls it Finn’s room, so Blaine does as well- to check if he’s already packed everything for his trip home.

Around 1pm, Kurt will go to his friends and Blaine will go home.

Downstairs, Burt and Carole greet him. Blaine has a déjà vu feeling when he sees Carole making eggs and Burt reading at the table, but Blaine pushes it aside. He doesn’t want to repeat the other day.

“Morning.” Speech! Wonderful!

“Morning. Is Kurt still asleep?” Burt asks and Blaine nods.

“Oh no, but he’s my breakfast buddy,” Carole yells from the kitchen, “Who will accompany me in the kitchen?”

“I would, but you keep sending me away, Carole,” Burt yells back and they hear Carole laugh.

“I will never forgive you for that one time you tried to make a cake and you left a mess in my kitchen,” Carole says, “I guess Blaine will have to do for now.”

“What?” Blaine asks, alarmed.

Carole gestures to him to come to the kitchen. “I assume you can help me. Again, I would’ve asked Burt, but he’s banned from entering the kitchen when I’m in it.”

Burt grumbles something.

“Uh.” Against his judgement, Blaine does as he’s told.

“Wonderful!” Carole says happily, “You want another sunny-side up? Burt usually wants one of those and Kurt and I want it one over easy. If you take care of those two, I’ll take care of the sunny-side ups. Now, where did I leave my spatula…”

Carole runs around in the kitchen.

“Uh.” Blaine’s not good in kitchens.

“Ah, here it is. Oh Blaine, the eggs are in the fridge and a frying pan is in the cupboard underneath the microwave. Now, I still need some bacon.”

“Carole.”

“Oh wait, we’re out of bacon! Silly me.” Carole continues to talk.

“Carole?”

“Well, no bacon for now. I don’t mind that much… I can’t believe I forgot to buy it. Quinn’s left that effect on me. Jeez, I wonder what that girl is doing nowadays.”

“Carole!”

Carole turns around. “Yes?”

Oh. Yeah. Now he needs to talk. “Remember how you told the story of Finn demolishing his eggs?”

“… Yes?” Carole says, her voice breaking a little bit. The death of her son is still fresh.

“Well, I tend to demolish eggs as well, but not because I’m impatient, but because I totally suck at cooking.”

“Oh,” Carole sounds a bit surprised, “No worries, Blaine. I will teach you.”

_Oh no, no, no, that wasn’t the plan._ “Oh, Carole, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, yes, move away from the fridge. You are going to make some amazing fried eggs,” Carole says happily, “It’s not that hard, honestly. But flipping them is a bit annoying every now and then.”

A few minutes later, a very sleepy Kurt enters the kitchen.

“Good morning, Kurt,” Carole says.

“Am I still asleep?” Kurt asks when he sees Blaine, “Am I dreaming? Blaine’s in the kitchen  _cooking_?”

“I was forced to,” Blaine says quietly.  _Please help me._

“He’s doing okay,” Carole says.

“Oh, great,” Kurt says and he smiles too brightly. Then he says teasingly: “I guess I’ll leave you two then, right Blaine?”

Blaine laughs. “Traitor.”

* * *

The four of them are standing in the hallway. Blaine’s bus leaves in a couple of minutes, so it is time to say goodbye.

“It was wonderful to meet you,” Blaine says, and he means it. Apart from the awkward beginning and the somewhat painful middle, Blaine really liked his stay here.

“Likewise,” Carole says, “You should come over during Christmas break as well. Burt, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“Very,” Burt says, “You’re a good kid.”

“So he has the Parents’ Stamp of Approval?” Kurt asks hopefully.

Carole laughs. “Definitely, Kurt.”

“Well, if we’re going to do the Approval Stamp thing, just wait till you meet my brother,” Blaine says, already dreading Cooper’s reaction. He’s probably going to try to embarrass Blaine at every possible moment.

“… Finn… would’ve approved of you as well,” Carole says sadly.

“He would’ve, yeah,” Burt says, “Because what’s not to approve about this kid?”

_My strange fears. My inability to cook. My weird moments._ “Well, I am pretty great. Thanks for letting me stay here, sir.”

“No problem. Now, I’d like to also see that brother of yours. Is he in Ohio for Christmas?” Burt asks and Carole nods.

“Yes. And if he changes his mind, my mom and I will force him to come home,” Blaine says.

“Oh wonderful,” Carole doesn’t say anything else, but it is heavily implied they all meet up. It is kind of nerve-wrecking, but Blaine guesses it’s a good thing. They really do like him.

“Now, we’ll leave the two of you for now,” Burt says.

Blaine holds out his hand.

“Oh, none of that formal stuff,” Burt says, “Give me a hug.”

Stop. Nope.

“Uh, I’d rather not,” Blaine says nervously.  _God, please, don’t make me ruin this last minute, oh my god._

But Burt smiles. “No problem,” he says and he shakes Blaine’s hand. Carole follows. Then the adults to back to the living room.

“So?” Kurt asks.

“Your parents are amazing,” Blaine says, “So are you. It must run in the family.”

Kurt rolls his eyes, but smiles. “What can I say, I have a pretty amazing dad. And Carole is the stepmother any kid could wish for.”

“Better than the evil stepmother for sure.”

“So you’re good?” Kurt asks just to be sure, which Blaine appreciates.

“Very, very good.”

“So.”

“So.”

Blaine’s not that good with goodbyes. He doesn’t like them. He will see Kurt when they fly back to New York, so he doesn’t have to act like it’s necessary to have a tearful goodbye, right?

This guy. Blaine hopes he will never have to have a tearful goodbye with Kurt, because he’s not planning on getting rid of him. Kurt’s his boyfriend. Blaine’s met his parents. Blaine is pretty sure he loves him.

Oh.

The realisation kind of hits him at the wrong moment, because he really needs to catch that bus. He doesn’t have the time to wonder if it’s too soon of if Kurt feels the same way.

“Blaine?”

“I’m thinking.”

“You’re probably overthinking,” Kurt jokes.

“No, I am thinking… about doing this…” And then Blaine pulls Kurt towards him and he kisses him. In the beginning, Kurt’s a bit taken aback, but then he kisses back. Blaine doesn’t mind Kurt for being surprised, because even though they do kiss, it’s never been like this. And Blaine usually isn’t one the initiate it.

When they pull away, Kurt even seems a bit breathless.

“What was that for?” he asks and he blushes.

“To thank you for everything. For letting me stay here and for letting me talk about… you know…” Blaine trails off.

“You’re welcome,” Kurt says, “You are always a patient listener, so I can only do the same for you.”

Blaine kisses Kurt again, but he really has to go. Blaine usually doesn’t complain about public transport, but now he really hates the bus.

After a third goodbye kiss, Blaine leaves, feeling giddy.

* * *

Blaine’s mother is hugging him and Blaine’s pretty sure she’s holding back tears. Blaine’s mom misses him, and Blaine knows she doesn’t want to let it show because she’s afraid Blaine will turn his back on New York, so he lets it slide as always.

“Oh look at you!” she says, hugging him even more. Blaine doesn’t hug back. Obviously. But Blaine’s mom is used to that after years of experience. “You are not going back, mister.”

“I kind of have to, mom,” Blaine says, “College life and all that.”

Blaine’s mom ushers him inside. “But you stopped by at the Hummel-Hudsons. How did it go?”

“Well mom, in all honesty, it was amazing.”

* * *

**_November 29 th 2014_ **

[“Blaine-wave”]  _Hey guys, Warble On! Speaking of Warblers…_  [turns around]  _Are you really going to be sitting there all video long? I told you, you are welcome to join me for this week’s Saturday Show._ [silence, but you can hear something off-screen]  _Alright then._  [turns back]

_You can’t see him, but my buddy Wes is sitting in my room as I speak. He does not want to speak with me right now, but if you do, my ask box is open. I am once again back in my childhood home -that’s why Wes is in my room in the first place- and I wish you all a nice belated Thanksgiving. To you non-Americans, happy Saturday!_

_This will be a short Saturday Show, because I do want to hang out with Wes and some other guys real quick before my plane to New York leaves._

_Well, maybe this isn’t that big of a Saturday Show, but it’s more of a small confession. As some of my more adept tumblr followers may have noticed, I am in a very happy mood. Why?_

[looking shy]  _I am dating someone._ [big smile]

[fake gasp from off-screen] [turns around]  _Okay, you can totally leave if you want to. Let me swoon about my boyfriend!_ [inaudible speech from off-screen] _That’s it. I’m cutting this out…_


End file.
